Danger’s my middle name

A while ago now, as we often do, Midge and I were questioning each other as to how much it would cost to do something stupid, eg. how much to eat your own hand? How much to go a week without speaking.  Every now and then, an offer comes up that the other person finds too irresistible to turn down.  Me changing my middle name to Danger for $200 was one of those offers.  The deal was written out on a post-it note as all legal contracts are.  Midge was to pay me $200 plus the $91 fee to change my name from Anthony Leiper (yes, I previously had no middle name) to Anthony Danger Leiper.

Time went by and offer was never taken up, much to my disappointment, as I thought Danger had a nice ring to it.  Midge soon picked up on my eagerness and requested a new deal.  He would pay the $91 fee to change the name, but that was it.  I was happy with that, as I just wanted a funny name, so we went ahead with it.  Below is the official change of name certificate.

Guitar Heroes

Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 was the official release date for Guitar Hero 3 for PS2, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360. To launch the title, Ellaway’s Music in Underwood held an official launch party. Included as part of the night was a performance by a local band, Repeat Offender, then, what we were all there for, a Guitar Hero 3 competition.

The rules were simple. Each registered player (40 in total), chose a song then played that song on the medium difficulty for 3 minutes. The top 5 scorers would go through to the final to compete for a top 3 finish. Each person in final 3 would win a copy of the game and the guitar controller. Incentive enough!

We were given the rules during the day, so I had a few hours to decide on a song to play. The demo which I had played for about 2 weeks featured 5 songs, all of which I could play well enough to get a good score, however I knew by looking on the net that other songs, which I had not played yet, could result in more points, even with a below perfect performance. Based on this, the song I chose to play was Stricken by Disturbed.

When I took to the stage, no significant scores had been posted so I knew even if I played poorly I would still be on top for the time being. I got roughly 157, 000 which was 13, 000 clear of the nearest player at the time. Next up was my brother, Stuart. He played Lay Down by Priestess, a song off the demo which he has played quite a bit. He got 100% off the song and got a score of 166, 000 which put him in the lead. Midge was next, he played My Name Is Jonas by Weezer and got 158, 000 putting him in 2nd spot for the time being. The rest of the night was mostly people just playing their favourite songs, obviously they had not thought about which songs to score the most points in, they were just there to play… suckers. A few good performances pushed me back to 5th place which was enough to make the final 5.

The final 3 was to be decided by playing the hardest song, Through Fire and Flames by Dragonforce on the hard difficulty (see it here). There were no expectations on any of us to even finish the song, it was who could get through the furthest before failing. I went first and got 5% through, which I figured would not get me through. 2 more players attempted it including Midge but could both only conjure 3% each. I was in the top 3 regardless now. Stu was next, he scored a massive 19% and received a massive cheer and even standing ovations from the crowd. This was the night he had worked his entire life for. The final player got 13% enough to finish in 2nd.

So Stuart got 1st and I got 3rd. Is there a more formidable brother combination in the Guitar Hero world? I think it’s highly unlikely.

Poker Pwnage

Today my good workmate and all round good guy, Clinton “Midge” Buchanan challenged me to a game of online poker at pokerroom. Not being one to back down from a challenge I gladly accepted knowing very well that my opponent is a fierce competitor in every facet of his life.

We began on a simple Limit $1000 table with $25 / $50 blinds (play money obviously). Needless to say this game did not last long as I humiliated him within a few minutes. His competitive streak came out, and he challenged me to a No-limit $5000 table. Not wanting to let him think I was afraid I accepted, knowing very well he would take this challenge more seriously. I was in no mood for serious thinking but this did not deter him.

The game began as the first one ended, by me whooping his pathetic online ass. To his credit he fought back to be about $1000 up, but that’s where the joy for him ended. I then decided enough was enough, and through a combination of good luck with my hands and my obvious talent at poker, I proceeded to dominate. All the time constantly taunting and berating him as to not let him get an ounce of confidence. The game finished fittingly, with me putting him all in with a full house. He foolishly called with 2 pair. He was not impressed by the obvious gap in our skill levels and he abruptly left.

The end.